She’s made headlines for the problematic phrase since the 2009 interview.
Kate Moss has been in the news, as of late. First, she gave evidence at the gave evidence at the Depp vs Heard trial, then appeared on the iconic ’90’s bus at the Platinum Jubilee.
She’s also just been announced as the new creative director of Coca-Cola, meaning she’s been doing more media interviews than usual.
Trigger warning: contains themes of eating disorders.
Back in 2009, during an interview with fashion industry website WWD, she shared her now-infamous catchphrase that “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”
Now, opening up for one of the first times since the interview, she shares that she believes she became a “scapegoat” for other people’s problems.
The quote has faced fierce backlash and was used by many in the nineties and noughties as a mantra for not eating, even used by pro-anorexia websites to encourage skipping meals.
But Moss maintains that she neither came up with the phrase herself nor meant it seriously. Instead, she saw it on the fridge of a friend after they had placed it there as a joke.
In the original interview, when asked what her motto is, her full reply reads: “There’s, ‘Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.’ You try and remember, but it never works.”
That said, the phrase was used pretty regularly throughout the years to follow to promote eating disorders, starvation diets and reasons not to eat – neither of which, surprise surprise, are good for your body.
As per NHS guidelines, women are advised to eat around 2,000 calories a day to maintain their current weight. It’s not worth debunking why the catchphrase is problematic, as every human needs to eat to survive.
Speaking on BBC’s Desert Island Discs this week, she spoke about the interview for one of the first times, saying: “I think I was a scapegoat for a lot of people’s problems.”
“I was never anorexic — I never have been. I had never taken heroin. I was thin because I didn’t get fed at shoots or shows and I had always been thin,” she continued.
In a previous interview, the supermodel has expressed her regret at the motto and praised the diversity in the modelling industry at current. “There’s so much more diversity now, I think it’s right,” she told NBC back in 2018. “There’s so many different sizes and colours and heights. Why would you just be a one-size model and being represented for all of these people?”
Speaking on her own health and wellbeing, the model reflected that her health habits have changed for the better as she’s gotten older. “I take care of myself now,” she explains. “I go to bed, I drink lots of water, not too much coffee, and I’m trying to cut down on cigarettes.”
Have the themes in this article affected you or someone you know? Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity, are open 365 days a year on 0808 801 0677 or beateatingdisorders.org.uk.
